


Gay Grumps

by aqqrieved



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: F/F, How Do I Tag, I'm Ross trash, Italian Character(s), M/M, Singing, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, and met omc, au where ross went to college in america, background commanderflap, background egobang, dan and omc are cuddly besties, everyone is tall compared to omc, idk what else to tag this as, idk what this is, italian swearing, mother hen Dan, omc is an animator and a musician, omc plays ukulele and is 5'1", omc sings Can't Help Falling In Love to Ross, overworked omc, q&a with the grumps, ross is 5'10", video games woo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-01
Updated: 2015-12-15
Packaged: 2018-05-04 07:52:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5326454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aqqrieved/pseuds/aqqrieved
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Alright, the very first question is for Ross and Mel! 'Are you two a couple?' Wow, very straightforward--or should I say...<i>gay</i>-forward!" Melvyn scoffed and imitated a drum set. </p><p>"Ba dum <i>tiss</i>, ha ha <i>ha</i>. You're <i>so</i> funny."</p><p>or</p><p>Ross has a boyfriend and everyone is gay. Enjoy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Q & A With The Grumps!

**Author's Note:**

> this was originally a kevin/omc but apparently kevin doesn't wanna be involved in shipping so i changed it to a ross/omc which works because I'm Ross trash and also now there can be commanderflap and egobang (background/eventual [doesn't happen right away])
> 
> disclaimer: I do not own the game grumps, for one, but this disclaimer is mostly because I will just say this now; I don't speak Italian, and while I am Italian (actually Sicilian, but I'm more German so), I'm not 100% or anything, so please, _please_ do not hesitate to correct anything relating to Melvyn's culture or correct anything that translates weirdly. I would really appreciate your help because I do not want to offend anyone's culture or stereotype anything too badly, or anything like that! Besides, I don't trust google translate. Please don't hate me for this *sweats*.
> 
> Translations at the bottom of the chapter!

"Hey lovelies! Welcome to the first ever episode of Q&A with the Grumps! Today, we are here with...the Grumps!" Suzy introduced. “We have a list of your guys’ questions, and we are gonna answer them for you guys...today!”

“I don't know which camera we're supposed to look into,” Danny confessed, glancing between them.

“Well, this one’s a close up and this one’s a wide, so,” Arin explained.

“Okay, I'll look into both of them!”

“I don't know what to do with my hands…” Kevin said.

“Put them on me,” Danny suggests.

“Sit on them,” Suzy said.

“That's the first question; what do we do with our hands?” Arin remarked.

“Hold your butt!”

Kevin wrapped his arms around Danny.

“Hold a friend. Hold your penis...what?” Arin mumbled.

“Alright, are you guys ready for this?” Suzy asked. The Grumps confirm.

"Alright, the very first question is for Ross and Mel! 'Are you two a couple?' Wow, very straightforward--or should I say... _gay_ -forward!" Melvyn scoffed and imitated a drumset.

"Ba dum _tiss,_ ha ha _ha._ You're _so_ funny." Melvyn Dicianni was a very short, feisty Italian, with dyed red, ear length hair. His accent shined through subtly. He fidgeted in his (it was actually Ross’, but that didn't matter) hoodie, curled up at Ross’ side. “Yes. Next question.”

Unfortunately, the Grumps picked a bad couple of days to film the Q&A videos; Melvyn was _not_ in a good mood. And that wasn't particularly problematic, as Melvyn was _always_ in a bad mood, but he never had to _film_ like that.

“Okay, moving on...do you guys keep a referenced catalog of the games in your collection?”

“Yes,” Arin deadpanned.

“Next question,” the Grumps all said in unison.

The questions continued for a while, each one with a funnier answer, and Mel was getting restless. It's not like any questions were for him, so why was he there? He had _work_ to do! He had to remind himself that the very first question was for him and Ross, so there were probably more, but Ross could have answered those, right? Man, Melvyn just wanted _out._

“So, this next question is for Ross,” Suzy read. “Ross, do you enjoy pushing people’s buttons?”

“Yes,” Ross said simply. Melvyn grinned at him, finding his smile adorable.

“You said to me, like, once, point-blank that you’re a fucking sadist,” Danny comments, and Melvyn bursted out laughing.

“He is a sadist!” Suzy exclaimed.

“We were looking up the definition of ‘sadist,’ and it was, like, ‘one who derives pleasure from the pain of others,’ and Ross was like, ‘yeah, I do that,’” Danny explained. They all laugh.

“There was one time we were sitting at Magfest and we were all sitting down, and I was eating a Caesar salad, and you were all eating and hanging out, and there was just complete silence, and then I said out of nowhere, ‘man, I just wanna watch the world burn,’” Ross recalled. “And everyone just looked at me, and I was like, ‘but, no, think about it; if you could just unnippitantly watch the world burn, wouldn’t it be kind of fun to see how people change and react?”

“Change? They’d _die!”_

“No, no, but, like, not in the literal sense of, like, ‘oh, everything’s on fire,’ but, like, the world falling down around you and, like, watching society crumble--”

“Babe, babe, we get it; you’re a sadist,” Melvyn said, patting his cheek.

“I said it would be beautiful in a horrible way.”

“Yeah, you’re a sadist,” Barry confirmed.

“...Am I?”

“Yeah, through and through.”

“Oh, that’s pretty cool.”

“At least you own it, you know?”

“Have you ever read _The Art of War?”_ Arin asked.

“No, not yet, but I should,” Ross replied.

“You should read _The Art of War.”_

“You think I’d like it?”

 _“Yeah,_ I think so!”

“Yeah, you’re fucking _cold blooded,_ like a reptile!”

“You’re like, ‘aw, neat, what’s the best way to murder people?’”

“Just the other night, you were _so_ happy I was puking my brains out at your birthday,” Kevin added, “so happy.”

“Oh, I was!”

“Oh, I didn’t hear that happened!”

“I found his shoes and started laughing, and I was like, ‘Paulette, here’s his shoes.’”

 _“So_ giddy that I was sick.”

“Didn’t you have a trash bag over your head?”

“Yeah, I did.”

There was a pause. “Next question, please.”

“Wait, okay so you guys think I get like ‘special treatment’ from Ross because we’re dating, right?” Melvyn asked, diving in before they moved on.

“Yeah, because you do! All I hear from you is how nice Ross is!” Arin commented.

“No, but, see, the reason for that is because I’m like a fucking, um, _sociopatico?_ Ross, what’s the English word for that again?”

“Sociopath, babe,” Ross told him, laughing. The Grumps all look incredibly confused.

“What? You’re so nice!” Suzy claimed.

“No, but seriously, I was watching Sherlock and I realized that he and I are very similar, so when he said he was a sociopath, I was like, ‘woah, what?’ And then I asked Ross to look it up, and he showed me the definition--”

“--And he was like, ‘oh, _sociopatico!’_ And, at first, I was like, ‘what the fuck did you just say?’ But, then I put two and two together,” Ross interrupted. Melvyn smacked him on the chest.

“Anyway, the definition is, like, ‘a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience,’ and I was like, ‘yeah, no, that seems about right.' Also, Ross, honey, you’re Italian is _merda.”_ Ross gasped in faux offense.  

“Alright, this one’s for everyone; who's your favorite Game of Thrones character?” Melvyn groaned.

“Just go down the line?” Danny suggested.

“Alright, so, my favorite Game of Thrones character is The Hound, uh, naturally ‘cause he's so badass,” Suzy enthused. “I love him. I have his helmet.”

“Uh, my favorite Game of Thrones character is Rickon. Rickon Stark. Uh, most compelling character on the entire show,” Arin praised sarcastically, “uh, written truly like a genius, um. One of the best characters ever, in cinema history, I think.”

“They should just name the show a Game of Rickon,” Barry commented.  

“A Rickon of Rickon,” Danny and Arin both said. They made a few more Rickon puns before Ross answered.

“Tyrion, he's my favorite,” Arin threw in seriously.

“My favorite Game of Thrones character is George R.R. Martin ‘cause he gets to watch the world burn. Next question,” Ross deadpanned, and they all laughed, reminded of the earlier question about Ross’ sadism.

Melvyn sighed. “I don't watch Game of Thrones, nor have I read the books.”

“I love Jon Snow,” Danny answered. “Jon has always been my favorite, ever since I started reading the books, many, _many_ years ago. Hang in there, Jonny boy.”

“I like Podrick,” Kevin blurted.

“Podrick’s the bomb,” Arin said. Kevin agreed.

“He's a ladies man.”

Barry answered with Davos, and the Grumps discussed. Mel sulked, attempting to better his mood by lacing his fingers with Ross’.

They answered a question about guests on Grumpcade, and Mel's only source of entertainment is Ross’ blunt and sarcastic answer of, “No, the show’s over. Go home.” He zoned out until someone said his name.

“We're gonna get Melvyn on, as soon as we get him to stop spacing out and also to _stop working_ ,” Danny said pointedly, snapping his fingers in front of Mel's face. The much shorter man jolted. 

“What? Oh, right, yeah. Woo. Games,” he muttered. Danny gave him a concerned look, and Ross squeezed his hand.

The next question was about the length of a Grumps session, and Ross wrapped an arm around Mel's shoulders, adjusting their hands. Danny and Arin answered a question, and then another.

“Alright, here's another question for everyone; were any of you inspired by any other YouTubers to make Game Grumps/your channel, and if so, who?”

Ross muttered in confusion, and Danny said, “Were you inspired by any other YouTubers, Ross?”

“To make Game Grumps?”

“To make anything you've done.”

“Like, for example, my channel, Mortem3r? Heavily inspired by grav3yardgirl. She's, like, a _huge_ inspiration to me. I love her channel. And then, Kitty Kat Gaming? My gaming channel is heavily influenced by Game Grumps,” Suzy answered. “And, meeperfish, my animation channel, was inspired by Arin, Egoraptor.”

Danny ‘aw’ed. “Are you saying I'm your main inspiration?” Arin asked. Suzy confirmed, playing with his hair.

“You were, like, around YouTube forever, though.”

“Yeah, I mean, I've been around since, like, Newgrounds and stuff,” Arin agreed. He listed a few people Mel'd never heard of. He talked about Game Grumps. Ross gave a vague answer and praised a Newgrounds animator.

“Mel? What inspired your channel?”

Mel froze up a little. “Well, uh, my channel is _super_ old, I made it when I was like 16, and I wasn't really planning on my channel ever becoming anything, especially since I could barely speak English, and even more so when I moved here. I mean, no one really inspired me before. It was just a place where I pretended I knew what I was doing and did stuff like covers of emo songs and crappy speed paints, but when it started evolving and I got into animation, I was _heavily_ inspired by Ross.” He stumbled to add embarrassedly, “and Arin, and with music, Danny and Brian. Even before I started working here.”

The whole group ‘aw’ed, and Ross, Arin, and Danny gave him a hug. "Are you saying that I'm your main inspiration?” Ross mocked. Melvyn nodded, playing with his hair and mocking Suzy. They all laughed.

Danny's answer was simple; “For me, um--I was outside the YouTube world when I started making YouTube videos, so it was mostly stuff like Lonely Island, Flight of the Conchords, Tenacious D. They were the inspiration for NSP.” His simple answer turned into a deep discussion before it turned to Kevin.

“Well, I don't have a YouTube channel. I mean, I did a long time ago, in high school, but you will _never know about it_.”

Everyone shot him accusing questions. When everything died down, Kevin finished his answer. “No, but, I'm really inspired by Freddy W., and SuperTramp. I love watching their videos, so.” Barry answered the question, his answer similar to Dan’s.

Suzy did the intro for the next episode, and Arin made a farting noise with his hands. Melvyn giggled. The first question was about how Ross moved from Australia to America. “And, since we're on this topic, how did Mel move from _Italy_ to America.”

“I got on a plane,” Ross deadpanned. They joked, trying to get him to elaborate, and Melvyn wanted to just get up and leave, but it was his turn.

“I got on _many different_ planes,” he sassed. Arin asked  _why_ he moved to America, and the actual story, and he tensed.

“Well, I moved here when I was around 18. I actually met Ross around then. He helped me learn English, since I literally could not speak a word of it when I got here, and also we kinda helped each other out, being the foreigners at our college. As for why...I moved here on my own because I was having...family issues...and I ended up moving in with one of my distant relatives.” They didn't ask for details, but they did gush about him and Ross.

Surprisingly, there were more questions about Mel. He supposed it was because he was a newbie. “Can you say something in Italian? Maybe something romantic to Ross?”

Melvyn laughed his ass off for about five minutes before he got down on one knee in front of his boyfriend. “ _Ti amo, fottuto sfigato. Sei l'amore della mia vita, ma poi di nuovo io mi ami una pizza, quindi potrebbe sostituire alla fine si_.”

Ross grinned. “I have no clue what any of that means. Except-- _ti amo_ means ‘I love you,’ right? And _pizza_ is in there. It's too long to just be ‘I love you more than pizza.’”

“I love you, you fucking nerd. You're the love of my life, but then again, I do love me some pizza, so I might replace you eventually,” Mel translated, giggling. They all laughed.

“Okay, so the next question is ‘what is your favorite anime?’”

Arin gasped excitedly. “Right now, Space Dandy,” Suzy answered. They all mutter in agreement.

“That’s a good one,” Arin commented, before realizing it was his turn. “Oh! Uh...snap. I don’t know.”

“Is this all time?” Kevin asked.

“All time favorite,” Suzy confirmed. She gave a few examples, and Arin said ‘Sailor Moon’ in a stereotypical Japanese accent. They suggested Dragon Ball, and Arin agreed, saying that it was the most inspirational.

“Dragon Ball _Z_ , specifically. I just read a lot of manga, _tezuka_ manga, like, Astro Boy and Blackjack. Blackjack’s my favorite _manga_ , if that helps.”

“That’s not the question,” Melvyn said impatiently, clearly passionate about the subject.

“Damn it!” Arin exclaimed. “I don’t know, _Bleach!”_ They all laugh, before he took back his previous statement. “I _hate_ Bleach.”

Ross listed a bunch of different animes, and Melvyn punched his arm. “Mel, what’s your favorite anime?”

“All of them,” he whispered dramatically. “No, it has to be Sword Art Online. I _love_ that anime. It was my first anime, as well. Although, the second half of the second season was _merda.”_ He cut his answer short, not wanting to drag on.

“Danny, do _you_ have a favorite anime?”

“Yes, I do, Suzy, thanks for asking. Um, my favorite has always been Cowboy Bebop, ever since college--”

“That was gonna be _my_ answer!” Kevin commented.

“Yeah, good stuff. Attack on Titan hit me pretty hard, that was really, really good, so.”

“Ugh, I never liked Attack on Titan,” Melvyn said, earning gasps from everyone. “I just never got into it! It was so overrated, like Death Note, except that was good. I was never interested in Attack on Titan.”  They all pretended to shun him. They skip Kevin, and Barry answers.

“I’m relatively new to the world of anime, but I watched Death Note, and, like Melvyn said, that was good, so.”

After a question for Suzy, the question was ‘what’s all of your favorite Pokemon,’ and Mel made a noise halfway between a choking llama and an excited seal, and started hitting Ross repeatedly on the arm. “Jesus Christ, _chill_ , dude!” Danny laughed.

“Mel _really loves Pokemon_ ,” Ross excused, wrapping his arms around the overexcited Italian.

“Eevee! I love Eevee more than I love Ross, and I love Ross a lot,” Melvyn tried to say. Unfortunately, in his excitement, it didn’t come out in English, and all the Grumps heard was, “ _Eevee! Amo Eevee più di quanto io amo Ross, e mi piace molto Ross._ ” They all burst into laughter, and Mel embarrassedly repeats the answer in English. Ross kisses his cheek.

“Ditto! My favorite Pokemon is Ditto!” Barry answered, a tiny bit less enthusiastic than Mel, but still excitedly.

“Blastoise,” Ross answered.

“Stantler,” Danny followed.

“Squirtle,” Kevin said after a moment. While the rest of them discuss Kevin’s choice, which ends up being Melvyn shouting stats and cool facts about Squirtle in both Italian and English almost simultaneously, the camera zooms in on Barry as he whispers, ‘Ditto.’

“I would say--not to sound cliche--Pikachu. I really like Pikachu,” Suzy answered, throwing in a couple more.

“If Pikachu’s your favorite, that’s a good thing; there’s Pikachu shit everywhere,” Arin commented.

“Yeah, you can’t find Ditto shit anywhere,” Barry added. They talk more about this, sharing stories about their experiences with Pokemon merch shopping. Arin says his favorite Pokemon is Scizor. Everyone goes silent, however, as the next question is about Arin playing as a woman. It was a long, interesting discussion, except…

Mel fell asleep.

He hadn’t meant to, but Ross was comfy, and everything was quiet, so he just...did. Well, until the rest of them figured it out. “Oh, my God, guys, look at how fucking _cute_ he is!” Ross says, whipping out his phone. “Guys, guys take a picture of him so I can put it on my Instagram!” They all laugh, and Suzy takes the picture. Needless to say, she left the flash on, and it woke Mel up. He was a light sleeper.

“Huh, what?” They laughed at him, pretending nothing happened. The next question was for Ross. “Ross, how often do the other Grumps pick on you when you’re not filming?”

“Never, I’m fucking ripped. Next question.” Mel might have been tired before, but Ross had to hold him up so he didn’t fall off of the couch since he was laughing so hard. He wiped the tears off of his face with the sleeve of his (once again, it’s Ross’, but who cares, right?) hoodie.  

“Well, I mean, I knew it was coming. This one’s for everyone. Do you ever look back and feel overwhelmed by what you’ve accomplished?”

They all gave a big spiel about how it’s less about what they have accomplished and more about what they have to accomplish, and all threw in comments and branched off until it was a long ass explanation for a ‘no.’

“But--sorry, can I..?--The thing that I feel is most accurate is that, while it’s definitely more important to me that there are other things to do, and I definitely get Danny’s kind of, I guess, short-lived...Ross, what’s that one word? The one that’s like, happiness but also the name of a drug?” Mel said.

“Ecstasy?”

“Yes, _grazie_. That short-lived _ecstasy_ of like, ‘wow, holy fuck, _I_ did that,’ and it sort of depends, to me at least, how other people were affected by it, I guess? For example, my very first animation, or at least, my very first serious, long animation was probably my proudest achievement, because I still get comments and tweets saying that that animation inspired others to start animating, or gave some people that boost that they needed, and stuff like that gets me overwhelmed because I actually made a difference in someone’s life. But, like, other stuff like a really good drawing, or a perfectly hit note in a song, that stuff, while still important, doesn’t ever even phase me for more than a few hours.”

“That’s because you’re constantly fucking _working,”_ Ross points out, and Mel shrugs.

Suzy did the intro for yet another episode, and Mel was getting really restless. All the talk about work had him itching to, well, _work._ The first question was about Dan’s hair, and the second was about Arin’s animation series, Sequelitis. “The next question’s for everybody, and it’s, ‘did you ever play an instrument in school?’”

Suzy explained how she played the acoustic and electric guitar for all of about 5 seconds, and how she can play a mean triangle and cymbals. Arin talked about his amazing recorder skills, and the struggles with tone, and how he tried to play guitar, but couldn’t, and also his failed attempt at playing the flute. Suzy added that she played the canter, which she said was ‘the beginning of playing bagpipes.'

“I used to play electric guitar. I was actually really into it, and I got so good that my dad had to ground me. And, I got asked into Van Halen but they said that my jams were too tasty,” Ross recalled. Melvyn and Danny laughed, and Arin and Ross discussed Ross’ skill to play the James Bond theme. Danny talked about how he tried many different instruments throughout his life, and how it never stuck, even after years of trying. Kevin said he played guitar and piano, and how he ‘killed at karaoke.’ Barry played the alto saxophone in the 6th grade, and then played the guitar through high school, and ‘noodled’ with a ukulele in the office.

“Alright, next question’s for Dan--”

“No, wait, you forgot Mel!” Ross announced. Mel shrunk down, hitting him in the chest.

“Ah, yes! Why don’t you tell us about _your_ musical talents, Melvyn?” Danny added.

“Oh, _vaffanculo_ _ragazzi_ ,” he mutters. “I, uh, my family has a really musical background, so I guess...I play a little of everything? I gravitate towards lighter, prettier sounding instruments, like the ukulele--I play the ukulele a lot, but never around people, and I haven’t done a song with it yet, but I’m working on one--and like, piano. But, I did play the flute, when I was in school--keep in mind, Italian schools are fucking weird, so it wasn’t in school, it was just around that time--and I play the guitar and bass, and I picked up the drums sort of recently. And, of course, I sing. So, I play a lot of instruments.”

Dan’s question was about how he got the name ‘Sexbang,’ and the next question was about college. Dan talked about his college experience and whether or not he recommends it, and Arin followed up with his own. Everyone jumped in on the discussion, and Kevin and Barry brought up their college experience. 

“And, also, I mean, I personally recommend it because you meet a lot of the people you’re probably gonna spend your life with. I mean, I met Ross in college, and it scares me sometimes because I almost didn’t go. I was literally ready to drop out, and I was barely halfway into the semester, but it was such a hard time for me, as I’d just moved to America, and then I had to go to college, and it was so much money, and I couldn’t afford anything, and it was so horrible, but--as cliche as this sounds--then I met Ross, and my entire life just turned around. He helped me pull everything together and I’ve never been so grateful for anyone in my life, and it just scares me to think that if I had given up, I wouldn’t have ever signed up to help out the foreign kids, which I decided to do because I was like, ‘if I’m gonna suffer this badly, I wanna help out the other foreigners so they don’t fuck up,’ than I would’ve never met Ross, and I probably would’ve dropped out and I honestly think I wouldn’t even be here today.” He realized that they were all looking at him, and he was crying, and Ross had this look on his face that looked like he was falling in love all over again. Mel wiped the tears away. “I guess the point is, try it. Try it, give it some time, and if you really don’t like it, than that’s all you, but at least give it a shot because you could meet _your_ Ross at college.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, I hope you guys like this long-ass chapter (i might or might have divided it into two because I wrote a hella lot more before I posted it) and this story. Basically I don't have a plan for this, but I won't go so far as to call it a series of one-shots (or maybe it is? I don't fucking know) It will basically just be a new chapter whenever the fuck I feel like it or I get an idea, most likely just inserting Melvyn into a video, mostly live action, and we'll see where it goes. Like i said before, feel free to leave feedback on anything, like any language issues or anything concerning Mel's culture, any writing critique, any plot points for the story, or just how much you loved/liked/hated the story. bye!
> 
> Translations:  
>  _sociopatico_ : sociopath  
>  _merda_ : shit  
>  _Ti amo, fottuto sfigato. Sei l'amore della mia vita, ma poi di nuovo io mi ami una pizza, quindi potrebbe sostituire alla fine si._ : I love you, you fucking nerd. You're the love of my life, but then again, I do love me some pizza, so I might replace you eventually.  
>  _Eevee! Amo Eevee più di quanto io amo Ross, e mi piace molto Ross._ : Eevee! I love Eevee more than I love Ross, and I love Ross a lot.  
>  _grazie_ : Thank you  
>  _vaffanculo ragazzi_ : Fuck you guys


	2. Can't Help Falling In Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Melvyn serenades Ross, and the Grumps catch it on camera.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is super short and i don't even know what it's supposed to be just take it  
> as usual, translations at the bottom

"I forgot you said you could play the ukulele," Ross said out of nowhere, grinning. Melvyn blushed, not realizing he'd been absentmindedly strumming Barry's uke.

"It’s not that cool.”

"Well, I, for one, think that it’s _extremely_ cool, and adorable," he muttered, kissing Mel's nose. "Can you play something?" Mel shrugged, averting his eyes slightly.

"Come on, _please_?" Mel sighed exaggeratedly, positioning his fingers on the strings.

"I _guess_ ," he muttered, feigning boredom. He smiled, beginning to strum.

 

" _Wise men say_

_'Only fools rush in,'_

_But I can't help_

_Falling in love with you._ "

 

He waltzed around the room, smiling and serenading Ross, completely unaware of Arin and Danny standing in the doorway, one of their cameras pointed at the youngest Grumps. Ross followed Mel around, looking lovesick as he smiled back with a dopey grin.

 

" _Shall I stay?_

_Would it be a sin_

_If I can't help_

_Falling in love with you?_ "

 

Mel climbed onto the couch, strumming with exaggerated flourishes, as if he were on stage and Ross were his audience. Arin and Dan fought to contain their giggles, frantically shushing Kevin as he and Barry came around the corner to figure out what the ruckus was.

 

" _Like a river flows_

_Surely to the sea,_

_Darling, so it goes,_

_Some things_

_Were meant to be._ "

 

Mel leaped off of the couch, spinning around and looking Ross directly in the eyes with a passion- and love-filled expression.

 

" _Ta_ _ke my hand_

_Take my whole life, too_

_'Cause I can't help_

_Falling in love with you._

_Like a river flows_

_Surely to the sea,_

_Darling, so it goes,_

_some things_

_Were meant to be, oh._ "

 

The strumming became gentle, and the singing soft. Mel stepped closer to Ross, so close that the taller of the two could rest his forehead down on Mel's. Their smiles were filled with nothing but love and content.

 

" _Take my hand_

_Take my whole life, too_

_'Cause I can't help_

_Falling in love with you._ "

 

Ross joined in for the final line, hands on Mel's cheeks. Mel strummed the final few notes.

 

" _'Cause I can't help_

 _Falling in love with you._ "

 

Ross captured Mel's lips in a kiss, and the other Grumps, including Suzy and Holly, who'd joined them shortly before, revealed themselves, cheering and awing and catcalling. Mel startled and fumbled with the ukulele almost comically as to not drop it, clutching it tight to his chest, cheeks flushing madly. Ross smiled casually, until he saw the camera. He grinned.

"Send it to me," he told Arin. Mel looked up at him, confused, as he tried to put two and two together. His eyes widened.

"Don't you dare, you _cagna_!" he protested. The Grumps smiled at his language lapse, and Arin hit send. Ross’ phone dinged, and Mel snatched it from him, barreling past the Grumps and out into the office. He struggled to open the message to delete it, but he was tackled from behind by Ross. Danny retrieved the phone, and by the time Melvyn had managed to free himself from Ross, he was holding it above his head.

" _Dare indietro, stronzo! Fanculo voi e le vostre membra gigantesche!_ " he shouted. He huffed, backing up a few steps. Dan gave him a smug look, before calculating what exactly he was trying to do. Melvyn took a running start and threw himself at Danny, wrapping his arms and legs around the taller man's torso. Danny gave an 'umph' and stumbled, the two of them falling down. As soon as they hit the ground, Mel grabbed the phone and stood up, successfully deleting the video. He exclaimed in victory.

"Uh, Melvyn, I hope you realize that I have the video on my phone, and I just sent it to everyone. Oh! We should make it a second channel video! Barry! Go upload it!" Arin says.

_"No!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _cagna_ : bitch  
>  _Dare indietro, stronzo! Fanculo voi e le vostre membra gigantesche!_ : Give it back, asshole! Fuck you and your gigantic limbs! 
> 
> Song: Can't Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley (Twenty One Pilots version)
> 
>  
> 
> i'm not sorry for these 641 words of pure fluff


	3. Sleepytime Junction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mel has been overworking himself, so Danny, the great best friend he is, gets him to sleep, and Ross takes him home. Domestic shit ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't know i needed some fluff

Melvyn was tired. _Very_ tired. Danny could tell. Arin was sick, Barry was behind on editing, and Ross was working on an animation, so Mel and Danny did Game Grumps that day. They decided to play some Mario Party.

"Look at fuckin' Peach, man. She's just like, 'oh, look. I'm winning. Fuck you guys,'" Danny mocks, gesturing at the screen.

"Yeah, what a _cagna,"_ Mel agrees sleepily. Danny gives him a glance, startling at the incredibly exhausted expression Mel has. His eyes are bloodshot and don heavy bags, the purple contrasting with his olive skin. His hair is messily pushed away from his face, the curls untamed and wild. Danny stops the game capture.

"Dude, how much sleep have you been getting lately?"

"What is the English word _for...nessuna?_ 'None'? Yes, that's the one." Mel's accent was thick, and his English was mediocre. Danny frowned.

"Come on, lay down on old Dan," he said, opening his arms. Mel practically fell into his embrace, snuggling into his side sleepily.

“ _Somebody’s takin’ the train to the sleepytime junction_ ,” Dan sang quietly.

Melvyn laughed tiredly, singing along. “ _Somebody is so tired he can barely function._ ”

A few minutes later, Ross came into the room, wondering why he wasn't hearing frustrated yelling in Italian, to find his boyfriend out cold on Danny. Danny gave him a helpless look.

"He looked like Hell, so I just let him lay on me. You should take him home. He's been working way too much. I can help you get him home, if you want?"

Ross shook his head, "I'll get him. You should call Barry in, do a Steam Train episode. Or see if Arin's feeling up to it." He leaned down and slipped his arms beneath Mel, lifting him with little difficulty. Mel was super light and small, making him easy to carry. The smaller male snuggled into Ross immediately, not stirring.

Ross said goodbye and thank you to Dan, making his way out of the Grump office and toward his car. When the cold air hit Mel, who was bundled up in Ross’ hoodie, he shivered, moving around. He ended up moving so his face was buried in Ross’ shoulder, his arms wrapped around his neck, and his legs wrapped around his waist, like a child. Although, Ross wasn’t complaining about the positions of his arms and hands under Melvyn’s thighs. It did, however, make it all the more difficult to get him into the car.

Once Ross had finally managed, he slid into the driver’s seat, taking a minute to look over at his boyfriend. Mel looked so much more at ease while he was asleep. For the better part of Mel’s time in the office, he was buried in his work. Rarely, he would find time to do a couple episodes of Grumpcade, or record his and Ross’ series (that Arin decided on), ‘Gay Grumps.’ The only reason he didn't stay later than he did--which was pretty late--was that Ross _didn't._ And, since Ross was his ride home and he was Ross’s live-in boyfriend, he had to go home earlier than he liked.

Ross didn't like how much work Mel had been doing. He was worried about how much work Mel had been doing. He understood, he totally did; being a YouTuber was hard enough, but Mel was a YouTuber, an animator, _and_ a musician, and somehow still managed to find time to be probably the _nicest_ boyfriend that anyone could ever have. The poor guy barely slept at night.

Ross was annoyed by _that,_ too. Even after he'd managed to finally get Mel to come home, it was straight to his laptop, and that stupid LED screen worked to ruin his boyfriend’s sleep schedule way into the night. Lately, even _Ross_ had been having trouble sleeping because of that dumb screen.

During the day, Melvyn was a jittery ball of anxiety and artificial adrenaline. He ran on caffeine and could only be stopped by Ross’ arms around him and a kiss to his cheek. He melted in Ross’ embrace, lingering in the security for a few moments before kissing Ross’ lips and muttering that he had to get back to work. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, he was dead to the world and immersed into his work again.

Mel shifted in his sleep, and Ross jumped, suddenly aware that he needed to actually drive to get them home. He started the car, taking one last glance at Mel before he started driving.

 

When they finally got home, and Ross lifted Melvyn out of the car, the shorter male latched onto him like a sloth. Ross smiled fondly. He got strange looks throughout the walk from his car to their apartment, and even a few disapproving ones, but he just adjusted his grip on his boyfriend and opened the door. He was immediately greeted by their cat, Orph, who hissed at him. For some reason, Orph _hated_ him, but absolutely _adored_ Mel. The cat growled at him, obviously unhappy with the unconscious man draped across him.

Ignoring Orph, Ross made his way toward the bedroom to let Mel get some sleep while he made them dinner. Ross wasn't the best cook--that was all Mel and his Italian genes, bless him--but he wasn't _that_ bad. He leaned down to place Mel on their bed, but Mel clung on comically, refusing to let go. When Ross tried to pry him off, he stirred and made noises of distress. So, he gave up, and flopped down on the bed with his boyfriend. Mel's arms moved from Ross' neck to snake around his torso, and he buried his face in the taller man's chest. He slipped a leg around one of Ross', and smiled in content.

Ross smiled and pulled his chin over Mel's head, not particularly tired enough to sleep. He stared around at their room. _Their room._ It felt so good for Ross to say that. They'd shared houses before, obviously. They'd shared a dorm in college, and then bought their first apartment together, but they'd never shared a _bed--or,_ at least, not one that was legally _theirs,_ that they'd _bought_ to _share._ They never had a room together like this; it was basically one half Ross, one half Melvyn. All of Ross' World of Warcraft merchandise, and collectibles, and what Mel liked to call his 'nerd gear' was strategically placed on a bookshelf on his half of the room. On the other was all of Mel's posters, and his bookshelf that was actually filled with books and movies, and collectibles. It looked like a home.

And then there was Mel's, shall we say, 'pet project.' He'd decided that he wanted to cover an entire wall with photos, like a timeline. So, the developed a bunch of old pictures, and now practically every picture of them or the Grumps was on the wall. He even said that he thinks they could cover the entire _room._ They'd only had about 3/4 of the wall covered so far. Ross made a mental note to develop the picture Suzy took earlier that week of him with Mel sleeping on him. After about an hour, Ross fell victim to the warm blankets and comforting silence, letting his eyelids fall shut.

 

When Melvyn woke up, he sat up groggily, taking in his surroundings. An arm fell from around his waist, and he looked down, smiling fondly at Ross. The other man's eyes fluttered open gently. He smiled back. "Hey, babe. Sleep well?"

Mel glanced at the clock, surprised to see that it was already about 8 o'clock at night. He could've sworn he was at the Grumps office with Dan, recording, and it was early afternoon. "Yeah. Did you bring me home?"

"Yeah, you fell asleep on Dan," he explained. Mel's eyes widened, so he threw in, "He let you, though, it's okay." Melvyn nodded, and yawned.

"Man, I'm _starving."_ Ross grinned.

"I was _going_ to make food, but _you_ wouldn't let go of me when we got home, so I just laid down with you." Mel flushed, apologizing. Ross chuckled and shook his head, getting up to go make them food. "Harry Potter marathon or Doctor Who marathon?"

Mel lit up. "Harry Potter. What are you gonna make?"

"Hm, not sure. Do you--"

"Ross, I've cooked everyday this week," Mel laughed. He pecked Ross' cheek and trotted off to find their Harry Potter movies. Ross sighed and followed him.

 

After they finished their poorly cooked Mac n' cheese, and they were halfway through the Sorcerer's Stone, they had fallen into a content position on the couch. Ross lounged across the cushions on his back, and Melvyn settled between his legs, head on his chest.

All was well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did u get that reference there *wink wonk* ;))
> 
> anyway yes i'm a harry potter nerd and apparently so is mel as you can see i project just a little
> 
> Translations:  
>  _cagna_ : bitch  
>  _nessuna_ : none


End file.
